Professional translation services play an important role in arbitration. Nearly every industrialized nation has an International Arbitration Act on their books. Although every nation’s Act is unique, all are similar in purpose – to facilitate the mediation and arbitration of international commercial disputes. Further, all states who have International Arbitration Acts agree to specific formalities as part of the International Arbitration Convention.

A great deal of the Act pertains to the recognition and enforcement of foreign awards.

According to the Act, a foreign award is to be enforced in the same manner as a domestic award would be enforced. The Act further outlines the evidence required to have a foreign award enforced. Under the elements of the Act, a foreign award will be enforced when a party is able to produce:

An authenticated original award or certified copy thereof

The original arbitration agreement under which the award purports to have been made, or certified copy there of, and

When an award or agreement is in a foreign language, a foreign language translation of it into the language of the court enforcing the award. Further, the foreign language translation into the local language must be certified as being a correct foreign language translation by a sworn foreign language translator.

See, in general, Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (NY Convention) and Inter-American Convention on International Arbitration (Panama Convention).